Gurgaon: Road repairs at busy Bakhtawar Chowk disrupt traffic

MCG officials have promised to complete the repair work at Bakhtawar Chowk in a week

The ongoing road re-carpeting work at Bakhtawar Chowk, an important junction that logs high traffic volume, has reduced the movement of vehicles to a crawl and delayed commuters by 20-25 minutes during rush hour.

Repair work has rendered parts of Bakhtawar Chowk off-limits for commuters. (Parveen Kumar/HT)

The junction draws heavy traffic through the day, as it leads to key roads and landmarks such as the Delhi-Gurgaon Expressway, Sohna Road, Medanta - the Medicity, Municipal Corporation of Gurugram (MCG), Nirvana Country, Artemis, Tau Devi Lal Stadium, Malibu Town, Central Park II and major multinational companies.

Hence, any construction work on the stretch inevitably disrupts traffic flow and causes snarls.

Construction officials on the spot claimed they are in contract with the MCG and are carrying out the road repair work as part of the latter’s 102 crore project. As part of the project, nearly 300 km of city roads are to be re-carpeted and repaired before the onset of monsoon.

At the junction, workers have barricaded parts the Satpaul Mittal Marg, which leads commuters towards Nirvana Country, and Arya Samaj, which leads commuters towards Huda City Centre Metro station.

Both the roads have narrowed considerably as one lane is taken over for repair work and cannot be accessed by motorists.

Navigating through the reduced road space has not only disrupted the movement of traffic but has also added to the woes of commuters.

“Crossing the junction during peak hours on any given day takes 10-15 minutes. Now, with parts of the road rendered off-limits for commuters due to the ongoing repair work, our travel time has been delayed by a further 10 minutes. I understand the need to repair the roads, but it should have been done at a time when the volume of traffic is low,” Abhishek Dayal, a resident of Nirvana Country, said.

As there is regular deployment of traffic police to streamline the movement of vehicles at the busy junction, some residents said they were confused why the traffic cops couldn’t do more to ensure the commuters were not hassled.

Read I Gurgaon: Road repair work begins in Sector 46, residents claim six-year delay

“When roads are barricaded because of repair work, traffic police need to step in and control vehicular movement. However, the same isn’t done as despite the presence of traffic police, motorists often jump signals or violate traffic restrictions in place,” Sejal Chauhan, a resident of Sector 47, said.

MCG officials assured the work will be completed within a week.

“All roads across the city are being repaired in a phased manner and the work is expected to be completed before monsoon. Residents will have to bear with partial inconvenience in the interim for a smoother drive in the future,” SS Rohilla, spokesperson, MCG, said.